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A2BeginnerNouns and adjectives · Point 23 / 40

après le nom, avant le nom, bel / nouvel / vieil

The adjective agrees with the noun: “un petit bar” but “une petite entreprise”, “un nouveau voisin” but “une nouvelle famille”, and in the plural you add “-s”…

PlaceExampleMeaning
après le nomun document officiel, un courrier important“après le nom” (after the noun): the usual position for most adjectives
avant le nomun petit bar, une grande salle, un bon café“avant le nom” (before the noun): position of short, very common adjectives
bel / nouvel / vieilun bel appartement, un nouvel emploispecial forms used before a vowel

The adjective agrees with the noun: “un petit bar” but “une petite entreprise”; in the plural you add “-s” (“deux petits”).

In context

Examples from our dialogues

Lines taken from our dialogues. Listen to them, then open the full dialogue to hear them in a real situation.

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Common mistakes

Mistakes you will often hear, and the right way to say it.

  • Une petit cuisine et un grande salon.Une petite cuisine et un grand salon.

    The adjective follows the gender of the noun: “cuisine” is feminine, so “petite”; “salon” is masculine, so “grand”. Check the article (“une” / “un”) to pick the form.

  • Un important formulaire, un officiel document.Un formulaire important, un document officiel.

    In English the adjective is always before the noun; in French most come after. Only the short, very common adjectives (“petit, grand, bon, nouveau…”) go in front.

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Related readings

Short texts where this point comes up. Read them to see it inside a story.